Top: Construction of the Surmang Shedra, 2004.

Left: Chakrasamvara (wheel of supreme bliss) lama dancer at Surmang. Photo by Khenpo Tsering Gyurme.

KONCHOK FOUNDATION SHEDRA PROJECT
Surmang Dutsi Til, Tibet

DECEMBER 2004 UPDATE

There is much to report from Surmang, including the welcome news that the shedra construction is ahead of schedule. We would like to briefly convey the highlights of 2004—and request your support for the 2005 rebuilding program.

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche’s visit to Tibet.
Several thousand people turned out on brightly festooned horses, trucks, and motorcycles to welcome Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and his entourage to Surmang on September 26th. In addition to many local lamas and monks, the Sakyong’s uncle, Damchö Tenphel Rinpoche, and his cousin, Karma Senge Rinpoche, came from their nearby monastery at Kyere to greet and visit with the Sakyong. Traditional dances and ceremonies were performed in the Sakyong’s honor.

Over 1,000 people turned out to pay homage to Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on Friday, October 1, 2004, as he toured each of the fourteen villages in the Surmang valley. At each village the Sakyong performed the classical hair-cutting ceremony for those wishing to enter the educational stream of Surmang Dutsi Til monastery. In many cases families asked the Chabje Sakyong to accept their young sons and daughters. An astonishing 255 men, women, and children had a lock of their hair cut by the Chabje Sakyong, who gave them dharma names, a protection cord, and a photograph sealed with his fingerprint in red.

Speaking to the assembled villagers, Surmang Khenpo Tsering Gyurme said, “The Chabje Sakyong is the holder of the Surmang Kagyu lineage, a responsibility given to him by his father and which he fulfills by propagating his father's teachings. He is undertaking the rebirth of Surmang by building the new shedra. But a building is not enough. We need people to bring it to life. People of all ages, men and women, are welcome.”

Welcoming the Sakyong to Surmang—September 2004

The Sakyong told the members of the delegation that his second visit to Surmang had quite a different feeling than his first visit in the summer of 2001. The first time he felt like something of a “tourist,” while this time it is clear that the people there are looking to the Sakyong as the guiding force and spiritual leader of their community. The Sakyong said his connection with Surmang was, “blood and bone.”

Trungpa XII Rinpoche.
Chökyi Senge, the Trungpa tulku, is now 15 years old. He was unable to be present for the Sakyong’s 2004 visit because he has been receiving the Rinchen Terzod cycle of teachings from Pewar Rinpoche at Dzongsar monastery for the past three months. In addition to spending much of his time at Surmang Dutsi Til, he also receives teachings at Palpung, which is Tai Situ Rinpoche’s home monastery in Tibet, and he periodically visits his family in Derge. Sadly, his tutor Kenla, who was the senior monk at Dutsi Til and one of the major links to Surmang during the time of the eleventh Trungpa, passed away this year.

Aten (Chetsang) Rinpoche and Trungpa XII Rinpoche—2004

Construction on the new shedra.   After breaking ground on the new shedra (monastic college) building in May, construction progressed ahead of schedule. Due to the 12,500 foot altitude at Surmang, construction can only be done from May through early October. Concrete blocks are poured on the site and a large saw and generator were acquired in order to mill timber. Cement and rebar must be brought in from Xining, some 700 miles away over rough roads, at major expense.

A crucial element in the building process has been the close cooperation between a team of Shambhala sangha members in Boulder and Khenpo Tsering, who is managing the project in Tibet. The khenpo works closely with the local contractor and engineer. After traveling to Tibet in 2003 to understand local construction methods, Bob and Lindy King have been very involved in helping to plan the building there. Last summer,

the Kings and Steve Vosper spoke frequently to the on-site team at Surmang via a satellite phone (which was sent to Tibet for this purpose) about construction details and plans. Additionally, Marv Ross spent much of the summer in Tibet to act as our “on the ground” liaison.

Khenpo Tsering notes that the involvement of the western Shambhala sangha construction team has led to the use of far stronger concrete, the pouring of foundations of a type and strength never previously encountered in Tibet, and other innovations. We, on the other hand, have rarely encountered construction workers with such lungta (check out the hats!) Many of these workers were recruited from the villages of Surmang.

Construction of the Surmang shedra—summer 2004

To summarize:

• The foundation for the shedra is finished.
• The outer walls of the entire shedra are raised.
• Many interior walls are also up.
• Much more construction was completed than we projected in the spring of 04, and the local community is pleased and very enthusiastic.
• Pres. Reoch said that the new shedra is quite impressive and will change the face of Surmang and the surrounding valley.

Financial report.
Under the leadership and inspiration of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Lady Diana Mukpo, and Lamen Mitchell Levy, the generosity of the Shambhala sangha has made the new shedra building possible. The shedra, in addition to training monks and nuns, will accept lay students for basic education. At present, there is no school in the valley.

In 2004, $97,000 was sent to Surmang by the Konchok Foundation to pay for the first season of construction on the shedra. Additionally, $10,000 was provided for support of Trungpa XII Rinpoche. Of the total Konchok Foundation expenditures for the year, only 3% was used for foundation overhead costs. Donations for the shedra project came from hundreds of sangha donors, including donations made inconjunction with the Sakyong’s marathon runs in Big Sur and Edmonton, and also with an art auction in Boulder.

Support for 2005.
Construction is scheduled to begin again on the shedra in May 2005. If sufficient funding is available, the coming year will see completion of the basic structure of the building, including upper stories, roofs, doors, windows, and insulation. Also, we will again be providing support for Trungpa XII Rinpoche. Bob and Lindy King will travel to Surmang in late July, to help Khenpo Tsering Gyurme with construction and long range planning for following building seasons.

The main fund raising events for 2005 will include the Third Annual Silent Auction in Boulder, that will take place around Shambhala Day 2005. This event has roused great energy for the project and has raised more than $25,000 in the past two years. The other main event for 2005 is the Boston Marathon, which the Sakyong will run on April 18, 2005. The fund raising goal for this event is $108,000. We are mounting a major fund raising campaign around this marathon, and will be in touch early next year about our plans.

Please go to the Donations page to make a donation online or for information about making a donation by check. All donations are tax deductible.

We are most grateful to you for your support and donations to the Konchok Foundation. And we hope that you can make a donation—or pledge—to help kick off the 2005 Surmang fundraising drive.

Surmang Dutsi Til as shedra construction begins in 2004

All photographs in this update report were taken by Khenpo Tsering Gyurme